The leading luxury car brand in India BMW “will continue to be the market leader, and hopes to end the year with a 40 per cent share of the luxury segment in the country”, said Andreas Schaff, President, BMW India Pvt Ltd.

Dismissing media reports that said Audi had beaten BMW to be the largest-selling car in the luxury segment, he said the competitor might have gone by its wholesale figures.

“Going by retail numbers, we are comfortably ahead, and will continue to lead the segment in India,” he said.

According to him, the company is also ramping up its dealership network from close to 30 now to 40 by the end of the year. Interacting with a group of journalists on the sidelines of the launch of its 3-Series sedan here recently, the BMW head said South is a key focus market for the brand. To a query on on whether the company is planning to launch lower-priced models, he said 3-Series will be the entry level car for BMW.

Apart from the new 3-Series, BMW has lined up four more launches, three of them refreshed models of existing products and a brand new 6-Series sports coupe.

>ravikumar.ramanujam@thehindu.co.in

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